Sourcingfocus.com's first year has been an unprecedented year, with a perfect storm of an economic crisis, nationalised banks in the US and UK, and industry bailouts worldwide. Here's hoping that we are over the worst of the crisis itself – although the after-effects of rising unemployment and a further quarter or two of recession seem inevitable.

The outsourcing industry will doubtless be asked to help our business partners and customers, but we ourselves are not immune from the crisis.

But despite all the gloom, here's hoping that you have a merry, gloom-busting Christmas and that we all have a more prosperous, peaceful and optimistic 2009. The sourcingfocus.com blog will return the week beginning 5th January. Until then...